Author: Dose

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Matvei Michkov: “John Tortorella is the coach, he knows what’s best.”

Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images

The rookie season of Matvei Michkov in Philadelphia is going quite well overall. The forward has collected 29 points in 37 games so far, and despite a more challenging stretch recently (he has only two points in his last 10 games), his talent remains undeniable.

He has, by himself, energized the Flyers’ offense for much of the season. For a rookie, that’s impressive.

That said, there are still a few aspects that have been more difficult. His relationship with John Tortorella, for example, has sparked conversation… and it feels as though it’s not always on solid ground.

In an interview with Daria Tuboltseva (Responsible Gambler), Michkov talked a bit about a game where Tortorella benched him for the third period… and it sounded like someone who was just there to avoid punishment:

[John Tortorella] is the coach, he knows what’s best. – Matvei Michkov

He then added that Tortorella gave him advice afterwards and that he appreciates his coach’s honesty, an important quality for him.

That said, even if Michkov insists that there is no problem between him and his coach, it still feels as if Tortorella is trying to break down something in his player. It is evident that there are habits of Michkov on the ice that Tortorella wants to change:

He gives me advice on how to play and what not to do. – Matvei Michkov

Of course, the young Russian did not elaborate on that subject, but it clearly shows that Tortorella is challenging him on certain things. Will this ongoing challenge further strain the relationship between the two?

We may see it unfold in the coming weeks or months.

Quick Hits

– Michael Hage in action today.

– Scott Wedgewood will be evaluated on a weekly basis.

– Minor transaction in the NHL.

– Interesting.

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ÉCJ: Don Cherry asks people to “not be too hard on the youth”

Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

Last night, Canada’s defeat at the World Juniors really made waves. The country, which is supposed to be a hockey powerhouse, was eliminated in the quarter-finals and ended the tournament with a record of 2-3.

To put it politely, it’s a disaster.

Since that moment, everyone is getting scrutinized. The leaders and coaches (especially Dave Cameron) are taking the brunt of the heat, but the players are also being thrown under the bus.

But seeing the players targeted doesn’t please everyone. Don Cherry, for instance, is among those who doesn’t like to see the kids singled out this way… and he issued a little heartfelt plea on X:

Don’t be too hard on the kids. They tried their best. – Don Cherry

Cherry’s message suggests that the blame should mainly be directed at Hockey Canada, which does not provide stability for the youth on the international scene. He would like to see the organization hire full-time coaches for the World Juniors, but also for the U18 and U17 teams to provide some consistency.

And in fact, it’s not crazy: if the U17 coaches are on the same page as those at the World Juniors, it means that the group of young players, who will grow together, will already know what to expect from one year to the next.

Were the players perfect during the tournament? Absolutely not. That said, Cherry does have a good point: with everything being said about Dave Cameron at the moment, one can wonder if the coaching group gave these young players any chance at all.

And regardless of the answer to this question, going to comment a flood of insults in the comments of young players is unacceptable. There are other ways to express frustration… and a constructive comment like the one Don Cherry made is a good example.

In Brief

– Speaking of the World Juniors.

– Four time zones in a week, it is true that it’s a lot.

– A new acquisition for CF Montréal.

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David Savard: a decision will be made at the last minute for tonight’s game.

NEWARK, NJ - NOVEMBER 07: David Savard #58 of the Montreal Canadiens skates during the game against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on November 7, 2024 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Graessle/NHLI via Getty Images)

Yesterday, at practice, David Savard left for the locker room before the end of the session. We weren’t sure what was going on, so we kept an eye on the news of the day.

The team did not practice, but the extras skated… and the CH took the opportunity to provide an update.

In Savard’s case, his participation in tonight’s game will be decided just before the match. He will try, but if he cannot play, Jayden Struble will replace him.

Obviously, the team hopes that the veteran will be able to play. He is a significant part of the team’s defense, and he eats up big minutes on their blue line.

Moreover, he is, alongside Alexandre Carrier, one of only two right-shot defensemen in town. Mike Matheson also plays right, but he is a lefty.

So that means in a world where Savard has to be absent, the CH would be relying on five lefties in their defense. Luckily, their only righty is Carrier, who is capable of playing big minutes, not Justin Barron, who is not exactly as reliable.

More details to come…

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Jonathan Toews: the Maple Leafs among three teams to watch

CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 13: Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews (19) thanks the crowd after a game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks on April 13, 2023 at the United Center in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

For a year and a half, Jonathan Toews has said he is not giving up on his NHL career.

To regain his health, Toews even traveled around the world to find different remedies. And finally, he seems to be doing well as he is increasingly seriously considering a return to play.

And no, it surely won’t be with the Canadiens.

On this topic, Frank Seravalli provided an update on his situation. In his update, he discusses that a return to play this season is likely, given how things are unfolding. Toews is back to a hockey player’s weight and he is skating.

Is this definitely going to happen? Not definitely, no. But there are chances.

Chicago was not mentioned by Seravalli among the teams that have a chance to sign him. This is not exactly a surprise in my eyes, as he surely wants to come back to win. Let’s also remember that the Hawks said goodbye to him in 2023 and not the other way around.

According to Seravalli, three Cup-contending teams to watch are: the Avalanche, the Jets, and the Maple Leafs.

The Colorado case doesn’t surprise me at all since it’s been a long time since this possibility has been discussed. As depth at center, it could work out if he’s healthy.

The Jets? They are a big club, and he’s from the area. That would be very Bobby Hull, wouldn’t it? #Chicago #Winnipeg

And in Toronto, the allure of bringing in Toews comes from the fact that he has played in an Original Six market and would bring depth at center on a third line. And clearly, he knows how to win the Stanley Cup.

Note that he must sign before the trade deadline on March 7 to avoid waiting until next season to win the Stanley Cup for the fourth time. His return could wait until this summer, but if he feels good, a return to play right now could really be a possibility.

In Brief

– What a bad signing.

– He is in Toronto to stay.

– Rafaël Harvey-Pinard is not discouraged. [LP]

– Christian Dvorak will have cost the Canadiens dearly. [HF]

– Brendan Gallagher with Uber Eats.

 

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Cayden Primeau will play his first game with the Rocket tonight since April 2023.

The Canadiens will resume action tonight against Chicago. Will the Montrealers be able to secure a sixth victory in seven games since the arrival of Alexandre Carrier (and the departure of Justin Barron)?

Will they continue their resurgence even if the holiday season is now a thing of the past?

Will Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook, and Kirby Dach once again showcase their raw talent?

We’ll see… but three games in four nights in Chicago, Denver, and Montreal will not be easy for the Canadiens players.

And what about the Rocket?
The Rocket will also be back in action tonight as they host the Abbotsford Canucks in Laval.

This will be the Rocket’s first game since Cayden Primeau’s demotion. Pascal Vincent has decided not to play mind games with the fragile goalie as Dave Cameron would likely have done if he were the coach of the Habs’ affiliate.

This will be Primeau’s first start in the AHL since April 2023.

Anthony Marcotte even reports that there is a possibility of seeing Primeau face those same Canucks tomorrow night, during the second consecutive game between the two teams.

It should be noted that Primeau has found success in Laval in the past and seems to have shown up at Place Bell in good spirits.

The Rocket definitely needs points in the standings; a goalie with NHL experience can only help! When you’re paid over a million dollars to guard the net in the American League, you’re expected to step up in a game like today’s.

Cayden Primeau will meet the crowd at Place Bell tonight.
(Credit: Rocket de Laval)

The Rocket has lost its last two games and slipped to fourth place in the North Division of the American League. They were sitting comfortably at the top just a few weeks ago…

Notably, Brandon Gignac and Florian Xhekaj, both injured, will not be in uniform against the Canucks. Riley Kidney will simply be left out.

In Brief

– Speaking of Dave Cameron.

– To watch out for.

– What do you think?

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Dave Cameron has “no regrets” and defends his numerous canceled practices.

Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

The defeat of Team Canada junior before reaching the semifinals will leave its marks. At least, we hope so.

Will the marks be visible only on the ice (by not leaving the good players at home to try to reinvent hockey) or will some executives lose their jobs after what happened?

At the moment, that question arises.

But, without having a crystal ball in my hands, I can say that Dave Cameron will not be back as the coach of the Canadian team in a year.

And if I’m wrong, there will be an outcry across the country.

Dave Cameron demonstrated that he was unable to make the right decisions as Team Canada’s coach. After all, every time he decided on something, it turned against him.

The one who was unable to keep his players disciplined or to keep his best players on the ice at the right time claims to have no regrets. And he didn’t even seem to understand why the question about regrets was being asked.

Do I need to remind you that when Canada does not make it to the semifinals, there must be regrets?

Among those he might have, there’s notably the fact that he gave THREE days off to his players. And regarding this, he said his guys felt tired and needed rest.

Once? Okay. But three? In a week?

Cameron also said he expected such a tournament: some teams that can win everything and tough matches on the Canadian’s path. Hey, good job being right, my Dave.

Let’s also note that a scout told Steve Ellis (anonymously) that he wouldn’t even trust Cameron to manage a McDonald’s drive-thru at three in the morning.

That says a lot. #Leadership

In Brief

– Oh really?

– Do you believe it?

– Worth watching.

– The Islanders are playing well, according to Patrick Roy.

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Top-5: The magic number is now only 24

Last night, there were 24 teams in action.

A big night of hockey, then.

Here are the results and highlights:

1. The magic number is down to 24

The Capitals faced the Wild last night.

And you know what a Capitals game means: one more opportunity for Alex Ovechkin to get closer to Wayne Gretzky’s record.

Last night, he scored. He is now just 24 goals away from surpassing 99.

However, Washington lost, and ironically, Marc-André Fleury stopped Ovi in the shootout.

Final score: 4-3.

2. Jonathan Quick stands on his head

Things are going poorly in New York, and the fact that Igor Shesterkin was placed on the injured list is a sign that everything is going wrong in the Big Apple.

Fortunately, the Rangers have a quality backup in Jonathan Quick. Last night, he stood on his head and stopped 32 of the 33 shots directed at him.

Victory for his team, 2-1.

He made several great saves.

Here they are:

Mika Zibanejad scored the first goal of the game.

This was his 700th career point.

3. A wild game in Colorado

In Colorado, the Sabres lost a two-goal lead in the final minutes. #SabresClassic

The Avalanche ultimately won 6-5 in overtime. What a disaster!

Upon returning to Denver, Bowen Byram also scored.

Also on the visitors’ side, Jason Zucker scored a hat trick and Zach Benson scored a rather controversial goal.

The goal was indeed given, but it didn’t stop the Avalanche from winning.

4. Hockey players: strange men

The Maple Leafs were visiting New York, and with a 2-1 victory for the Leafs, New York now has a record of 2-6-0 in their last eight games.

Patrick Roy will need to find a solution quickly.

What I noticed from this game is the players who are hilarious.

First, there’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson who hears voices.

Then there’s Casey Cizikas from the penalty box making fun of I don’t know who.

It’s quite comical.

Bobby McMann really hurt the Islanders at the end of the game by scoring the winning goal.

He has both of his team’s goals.

5. Victor Hedman takes a puck to the head

At the end of the night, the Lightning visited the San Jose Sharks.

San Jose helped the Canadiens in their playoff race by defeating Tampa in regulation. A 2-1 win, and we can thank Yaroslav Askarov.

The Russian finished the game with 24 saves.

Tyler Toffoli scored a beautiful goal, while Marc-Édouard Vlasic got an assist in his first game since April 18.

On the visitors’ side, in addition to the loss, they lost their number one defenseman.

Indeed, Victor Hedman took a puck directly to the head and had to leave the game.

Overtime

– Another strong game for Nathan MacKinnon.

– Detroit escaped with the victory.

– Another great save.

– Jason Zucker leads the charge.

(Credit: NHL.com)

– The Canadiens and nine other teams in action tonight.

(Credit: Google)
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CMJ: Canada eliminated in the quarter-finals

Since the start of the tournament, Canada’s performances have greatly disappointed its supporters.

On this Thursday evening, Dave Cameron’s team faced the Czech Republic in their quarter-final match.

He even made a change to his lineup.

Porter Martone returned to the starting lineup, while Carson Rehkopf sat this one out.

Here are the combinations for the match:

Let’s just say we were expecting a much better start to the game for the Canadians…

It took only 43 seconds for the Czech Republic to open the scoring… Petr Sikora scored the goal.

Then, a penalty taken just four minutes into the first period wiped out the power play they had just earned four seconds earlier…

And about five minutes later, Cole Beaudoin was ejected from the game for a play that, in my opinion, should have only been a two-minute penalty.

Beaudoin checked Sikora, but the angle of the collision (with no last-second directional change) hit the Czech’s knee.

We know that the IIHF is very strict when it comes to punishing such actions, even though there was no intent to injure on Beaudoin’s part.

I leave you to judge the verdict for yourselves, but it’s contact in a contact sport that caused an injury. Sikora quickly returned to the game and there were boos when he had the puck.

Moreover, Sikora tried (too late) to avoid Beaudoin and somewhat put himself in that situation.

Fortunately, during this five-minute major penalty, the Canadians equalized.

Tanner Howe placed the puck behind the giant 6-foot-6 goalie, Michael Hrabal.

Brayden Yager had a breakaway, and while retrieving his rebound, he sent it in front of the net to Howe.

But just moments later, during the Czechs’ power play, Sam Dickinson pushed the puck into his own net…

And at the very end of the first period, Dickinson was responsible for a turnover that allowed the Czechs to double their lead…

Overall, many players struggled in the first period, but guys like Porter Martone did well despite the score after 20 minutes.

The second period was much calmer, but it was all in favor of Canada.

And who else but Martone to narrow the gap at the end of the second.

The final period of regulation time heavily favored the Canadians. We had to wait nearly half of the engagement to see the first shot from the Czechs.

Ethan Gauthier almost equalized, but the goal was ultimately disallowed for goalie interference.

The Canadians did not stop buzzing in the opposing territory. They completely dominated, especially in terms of shots.

Finally, the long-awaited third goal for Canada finally came.

Bradly Nadeau saves the day with just over four minutes left in the final engagement.

But what had to happen happened: The Czechs scored with 39 seconds left, thus eliminating Canada.

This is a repeat of last year’s World Junior Championship: A premature elimination in the quarter-finals for Canada after coming back from a two-goal deficit, only to lose the game at the very end.

Another disappointment for Canada at the WJC…

Overtime

Porter Martone proved he should never have been removed from the lineup. Despite the struggles in the first period, he was probably the best player and he completely changed the tempo of the game. Unfortunately, Canada still lost the game and their tournament is over.

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Rangers: Chris Drury would do well to make moves to acquire J.T. Miller from the Canucks.

As we know, the New York Rangers season is a disaster.

Even though the chances of seeing them make the playoffs are slim, with a core like this, it might only take a major trade to revitalize the troops.

In the latest episode of Spittin’ Chiclets, a podcast hosted among others by Ryan Whitney and Paul Bissonnette, the latter mentioned something interesting on this topic.

The former tough guy noted that the Rangers’ GM, Chris Drury, would do well to do whatever it takes to acquire J.T. Miller’s services.

By clicking on the YouTube link below, it will take you directly to the excerpt about the Rangers.

Bissonnette mentioned that he regularly hears about a link between Miller and the Rangers.

Adding a player like Miller would undoubtedly help the Rangers.

But you know the saying: to receive, you must give.

In New York, Mika Zibanejad is disappointing many this season, with only six goals to his name.

Still in the podcast, the idea of offering Mike Zibanejad as a trade base was brought up and it would make a lot of sense.

The Rangers need changes, and Miller remains an excellent versatile and physical player, while Zibanejad needs a change of scenery.

In Vancouver, there seems to be real friction between Miller and Elias Pettersson, and trading one of the two could be positive.

Additionally, both players have similar long-term contracts (8 million for Miller and 8.5 million for Zibanejad)

Of course, Zibanejad will not be enough, but Drury has something to offer to add value.

There needs to be change among the Rangers.

In Brief

– Another goal for Ovechkin. Clearly, he has a mission in mind.

– Poor Marc-André Fleury, who has now allowed Ovechkin to score for the 41st time in his career.

– Zach Werenski puts himself in good company.

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If the CH is in the mix, it should not be a buyer.

MONTREAL, QC - FEBRUARY 10: Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes addresses the media on February 10, 2022, at Bell Sports Complex in Brossard, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire)

Just before the start of the season, Kent Hughes set his goal for the season: to be in the mix.

And this statement sparked reactions from fans who mostly did not really believe in the Canadiens’ chances of not being too far from the playoffs.

As we approach the halfway point of the season, the Tricolore is finally in that famous mix.

Who would have thought?

Even though I did not expect the Canadiens to be at the very bottom of the standings, I also did not foresee them being in a position to fight for a playoff spot.

But what should be done if, at the trade deadline, Martin St-Louis’ team is still just a few points away from making it?

Nicolas Cloutier from TVA Sports recently made some very interesting points on this subject.

According to him, the Tricolore will do nothing, as it is too early to buy and selling would limit the team’s performance until the end of the season.

Cloutier later added on the topic of selling on March 7 (trade deadline).

He revisited the famous mix, saying that “it would send a strange message” to sell players, knowing that the initial challenge has been met.

It’s quite hard not to agree with Cloutier. He made very good points.

Selling players would truly be ridiculous in a position like this. And this is even if the value of Jake Evans and David Savard is at its peak.

Being a buyer could be defensible, but I don’t see much need for it.

Kent Hughes might be tempted to acquire another impactful young offensive player who could stay with the club and thus provide us with an insurance policy.

Nothing guarantees that the prospects in the pipeline will become what we expect of them, and nothing guarantees that Patrik Laine will re-sign with Montreal at the end of his contract in 2026.

On the other hand, this also proves that even if Hughes’ plan seems to be unfolding very well, we don’t have an exact idea of the ideal player to add on March 7. It might be better to wait to know exactly what the team needs to add to its roster.

Hughes needs to be absolutely sure of his move to acquire an impactful offensive player to support the core. And the chances that a player who meets all these criteria will be available at a good price are very slim.

It would be better to do nothing in a situation like this.

In brief

– Let’s hope that the reintegration of Porter Martone (21 goals in 26 games in the OHL) into the lineup helps Canada to really get its act together.

– At least one positive point in Mike Zibanejad’s disappointing season.

– Ryan Leonard seems to thrive on the hatred of his detractors.

– Kane is in shape.

– Worth reading.